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Northrop Grumman expanding at Grand Forks tech park

A producer of unmanned aircraft used by the military plans to expand its facility near Grand Forks.

Northrop Grumman will break ground on a 35,000-square-foot hangar this summer at the Grand Sky tech park, spokeswoman Faith Jennings told the Herald. The project is Phase 2 of the company’s plans to build at the park designed for tenants in the unmanned aircraft system industry.

“The additional space will be for an aircraft hangar with associated support spaces,” Jennings said in an email. “This will enable us to begin working on aircraft modifications and repairs, and to conduct flight test and demonstration activities as we move into the future.”

The first tenant to break ground at Grand Sky, Northrop Grumman opened its 36,000-square-foot facility in April. The facility’s initial cost was slated at $10 million. The company said it expected to staff the building with 100 employees, adding that number likely will grow as it expands.

Jennings declined to say how much the second hangar would cost or how many jobs it would create but said it is “focused on staffing up our brand-new facility to ensure we get off to a solid start with the important work we will be carrying out at Grand Sky.”

“We will be able to share more specific details later this year but as you can tell this is a significant expansion,” she wrote. “This reflects our commitment to North Dakota and our support for North Dakota’s elected, business and community leadership in building a strong hub focused on autonomous systems and other capabilities to ensure UAS technology research continues to evolve and thrive.”

April Baumgarten joined the Grand Forks Herald May 19, 2015, and covers business and political stories. She grew up on a ranch 10 miles southeast of Belfield, where her family continues to raise registered Hereford cattle. She double majored in communications and history/political science at Jamestown (N.D.) College, now known as University of Jamestown. During her time at the college, she worked as a reporter and editor-in-chief for the university's newspaper, The Collegian. Baumgarten previously worked for The Dickinson Press as the Dickinson city government and energy reporter in 2011 before becoming the editor of the Hazen Star and Center Republican. She then returned to The Press as a news editor, where she helped lead an award-winning newsroom in recording the historical oil boom.